A look at the wild 'dogs' of Ohio
- John Lorson: The Rail Trail Naturalist
- March 13, 2025
- 563
Back in the days before settlers arrived in the Ohio Territory, the forest primeval is said to have stretched nearly unbroken from the banks of the region’s namesake river to the shores of Lake Erie. Among the multitude of forest animals, three members of the family Canidae (dogs) roamed the woods here. Two of the originals remain, and one has been more or less replaced by a more adaptable cousin as the forest was felled and replaced by a land of farms and cities.
Early on the gray wolf, the largest dog of its day, was seen as an imminent threat to both the pioneer and his livestock and was systematically driven out along with fellow apex predators the cougar and the black bear. Of the pair of canids remaining, the gray fox — an animal perfectly suited to forest life — saw its numbers diminished along with the majority of its habitat. The red fox likely enjoyed an increase in population in its preferred landscape of field and forest edge.
Not yet mentioned is the coyote, whose native range remained west of the Mississippi until the absence of the extirpated gray wolf opened up a whole new world. The first confirmed sighting of a coyote in Ohio occurred in 1919. Since then the smaller and more adaptable “top dog” has thrived in spite of constant efforts by man to diminish its numbers.
While the pack-hunting wolf is more evident in a human-altered landscape, the coyote finds a million places to hide and thousands of things to eat in the presence of man. Unlike the wolf, which requires large quantities of raw meat mostly gained by the killing of larger mammals, the coyote does well on an omnivorous mix of small animals — rodents, rabbits, birds, frogs, snakes and even earthworms — along with a mix of berries, fruits and other foraged foods. Its success speaks for itself as aside from the woodchuck, it is the only game animal in Ohio with a year-round open season and no bag limit.
One species that appears to have suffered at the rise of the coyote is its much smaller cousin, the gray fox. Population studies have suggested a decline in fox numbers, particularly those of the gray fox as coyote numbers have increased.
Aside from occasional predation on young ruminants (fawns, lambs and goat kids), the coyote competes for most of the same resources as the fox. As such, it’s not unusual for an encounter between the two to end with the smaller species paying the ultimate price. Whether the gray fox decline is a direct result of these circumstances has yet to be determined.
Fortunately, wildlife biologists are on the case, and I’ll delve into their study methods further in my next column.
If you have comments on this column or questions about the natural world, write The Rail Trail Naturalist, P.O. Box 170, Fredericksburg, OH 44627, or email jlorson@alonovus.com. You also can follow along on Instagram @railtrailnaturalist.